The Social Security Administration under President Trump has raised its overpayment recovery rate to 50% in an effort to improve efficiency.

Pairing an annuity and Social Security can have a big, and perhaps surprising, impact on your retirement plan.

The same approach could work again: thoughtful, phased reforms that maintain the program’s core protections. Ideas on the table include lifting the payroll tax cap (currently $176,100), gradually raising the 6.2% FICA rate, or making more forms of compensation subject to payroll taxes—similar to how TSP contributions are treated.

Starting in August, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will claw back overpayments, potentially reducing recipients’ checks by as much as half. Those who received a letter from the SSA regarding overpayment may need to rebudget their expenses as the agency moves to recoup excess funds.

One of the most important parts of the program, especially for married couples, is Social Security spousal benefits.

If benefits are reduced, it would require $138,000 in additional savings to generate the same income, PensionBee found. Here's how that breaks down by age.

Social Security benefits end when you die, unless you have a qualifying beneficiary who would begin to receive survivorship benefits.